Nolinski Paris - Evok Collection

There’s something undeniably charming about staying in a petite hotel on a side street in Paris, the kind with attic rooms and steeply vaulted ceilings and a tiny antique elevator. But there’s also something to be said for going all-out — for choosing a hotel that’s grand and glamorous, embodying a sturdy elegance that the French might call bien chic bon genre: good style, good attitude. Welcome to the Nolinski Paris.

The address is the first giveaway. The hotel is located on Avenue de l’Opéra in the 1st arrondissement, near the Comédie Française and the Palais Royal garden, not far from Tuileries Garden. Then there’s the building itself. The hotel is new, but of course, the historic setting is not — this is Paris, after all. The look merges classic Parisian sophistication with a modern edge: picture a minimalist lobby lined with Carrara marble, floor-to-ceiling windows framed by heavy drapery, dark wood paneling, the rooms’ original moulding set off by walls painted a cool shade of slate gray.

For all the refinement of the materials and the gray-and-white palette, the interior design has a lighthearted touch, and something of a “more is more” aesthetic: public spaces and guest rooms alike are filled with interesting sculptures, mirrors, and paintings, unusual light fixtures, lively patterns, small floral bouquets, the occasional retro lamp or vintage radio, and splashes of color from emerald green and turquoise to burgundy and burnt orange. And for a hotel with such a grand atmosphere, the Nolinski is relatively small, with 45 guest rooms and suites. You’ll be glad they’re soundproofed — this is a busy part of the city. In-room amenities include iPod docks, flatscreen TVs, and complimentary wi-fi.

Downstairs, the Grand Salon, with its silver leaf ceilings and bronze fireplace, is a memorable venue to cozy up in with an aperitif in an old-fashioned swivel armchair, and Nolinski Le Restaurant features a menu by chef Philip Chronopoulos and interiors by the British designer John Whelan. In such a prime location in Paris, you might not plan to hang around the hotel. But the Nolinksi’s opulent spa, La Colline, with Louis XIV armchairs and sofas set up around a stone-walled swimming pool, is a glorious place to recover from the walking, eating, drinking, shopping, and theatre-going you’ve come to Paris to do.